36716 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 13, 2021 / Notices 

on May 14, 2021 for the Department of 

the Navy’s (DoN) Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement for the Navy Old 

Town Campus (OTC) Revitalization. 

This notice announces a 30-day 

extension of the public comment period 

from July 13, 2021 to August 12, 2021. 

DATES: The public comment period 

began on May 14, 2021 and will end on 

August 12, 2021. To be considered in 

the Final EIS, all comments must be 

postmarked or received online by 11:59 

p.m. Pacific Standard Time on August 

12, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted electronically on the project 

website at www.NAVWARrevitalization.com or by mail to: Navy 

OTC Revitalization EIS Project Manager, 

Attention: Ron Bochenek, 750 Pacific 

Highway, Floor 12, San Diego, CA 

92132–0058. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems 

Command Southwest, Attention: Ron 

Bochenek, Navy OTC Revitalization EIS 

Project Manager, 750 Pacific Highway, 

Floor 12, San Diego, CA 92132–0058, 

888–682–6289, info@NAVWARrevitalization.com. You can also visit 

the project website at www.NAVWARrevitalization.com for more information. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft 

EIS and informational materials are 

available on the project website at 

www.NAVWAR-revitalization.com. The 

public may also review the Draft EIS 

and select materials at the following 

libraries: 

1. Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Knox Library (215 

West Washington Street, San Diego, CA 

92103) 

2. Point Loma/Hervey Library (3701 Voltaire 

Street, San Diego, CA 92107) 

3. San Diego Central Library (330 Park 

Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92101) 

Dated: July 8, 2021. 

K.R. Callan, 

Commander, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, 

U.S. Navy, Federal Register Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14841 Filed 7–12–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards; 

American Rescue Plan—American 

Indian Resilience in Education (ARP– 

AIRE) 

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Education 

(Department) is issuing a notice inviting 

applications (NIA) for fiscal year (FY) 

2021 for the American Rescue Plan— 

American Indian Resilience in 

Education (ARP–AIRE) program, 

Assistance Listing Number 84.299C. 

This notice relates to the approved 

information collection under OMB 

control number 1894–0006. 

DATES: 

Applications Available: July 13, 2021. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

July 23, 2021. 

Date of Pre-Application Webinar: July 

28, 2021. 

Individuals interested in attending 

this webinar for prospective applicants 

are encouraged to pre-register by 

emailing their name, organization, and 

contact information with the subject 

heading ‘‘ARP–AIRE GRANTS PREAPPLICATION WEBINAR’’ to 

shahla.ortega@ed.gov. There is no 

registration fee to attend this meeting. 

Information regarding pre-application 

webinar is available by accessing the 

website: https://oese.ed.gov/offices/ 

office-of-indian-education/. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: September 13, 2021. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: October 12, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: For the addresses for 

obtaining and submitting an 

application, please refer to our Common 

Instructions for Applicants to 

Department of Education Discretionary 

Grant Programs, published in the 

Federal Register on February 13, 2019 

(84 FR 3768) and available at 

www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR–2019– 

02–13/pdf/2019–02206.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shahla Ortega, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 

Room 3W245, Washington, DC 20202. 

Telephone: (202) 453–5602. Email: 

shahla.ortega@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the ARP–AIRE program is to support 

Tribal educational agencies (TEAs) in 

the provision of direct services to Indian 

children and youth. Projects must 

include one or more of the activities 

authorized under section 6121(c) of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). 

Background: ARP–AIRE is a one-time 

discretionary grant competition 

authorized under Section 11006(1) of 

the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 

(ARP) to provide awards to TEAs for 

activities authorized under section 

6121(c) of the ESEA in order to meet the 

urgent needs of students in response to 

the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID–19) 

pandemic. Those activities include a 

broad range of direct services to Indian 

children and youth, their teachers, and 

families. 

In accordance with the Department’s 

commitment to engage in regular and 

meaningful consultation and 

collaboration with Indian Tribes, the 

Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education’s (OESE) Office of Indian 

Education (OIE) and the White House 

Initiative on American Indian and 

Alaska Native Education (WHIAIANE) 

conducted a virtual Tribal consultation 

session regarding the ARP–AIRE 

program on April 26, 2021. Consistent 

with the Department’s trust 

responsibility to Tribes and its Tribal 

consultation Policy, the Department 

consulted with elected officials of 

federally recognized Tribes to ensure 

that their views inform the Department’s 

policy decisions related to the priorities, 

requirements, and definitions that 

govern this competition. In addition to 

the virtual Tribal consultation, Tribal 

leaders and others had an opportunity 

to submit written comments to the 

Department by email. We solicited 

feedback on specific questions related to 

the design of this grant program during 

this Tribal consultation opportunity. A 

summary of the feedback to these 

questions and how we incorporated the 

feedback into this NIA follows. 

1. We asked whether we should adopt 

the definition of TEA used in the State 

Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) 

program for the ARP–AIRE program, 

which is: ‘‘the agency, department, or 

instrumentality of an Indian Tribe that 

is primarily responsible for supporting 

Tribal students’ elementary and 

secondary education.’’ A significant 

number of comments from both Tribal 

leaders and others expressed interest in 

using the same definition from the STEP 

program. A commenter expressed 

interest in adding postsecondary 

education, and another proposed adding 

online students, to the definition. 

Because the activities in ESEA section 

6121(c) are focused on pre-kindergarten 

(Pre-K) to grade 12 education, we are 

limiting the scope of this program to 

students in those grade levels. This 

scope covers students in a TEA’s 

geographic area, regardless of whether 

students attend school in person or 

online. Thus, we are using the STEP 

definition of TEA in this ARP–AIRE 

program competition. 


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1Withington A., & Shtivelband, A. (2014). Native 

American student-dropout prevention strategies: 

Abstracts from the literature. (A report from the 

West Comprehensive Center.) San Francisco, CA: 

WestEd. 

2McCarty, T. (2011). The role of Native languages 

and cultures in American Indian, Alaska Native, 

and Native Hawaiian student achievement. A 

revised version of a policy brief prepared for the 

Promising Practices and Partnerships in Indian 

Education (P3IE) Program Evaluation Group, under 

a contract from the U.S. Department of Education 

Office of Indian Education Programs in 2009. 

3Faircloth, S., & Tippeconnic, J.W., III. (2000). 

Issues in the education of American Indian and 

Alaska Native students with disabilities. ERIC 

Number: ED448009. 

4Thomas, W.P., & Collier, V. (1997). School 

effectiveness for language minority students. The 

George Washington University, Washington, DC: 

National Clearing House for Bilingual Education. 

ERIC Number: ED436087. 

2. We asked whether there were other 

considerations for how ‘‘TEA’’ should 

be defined for this new grant program. 

Some commenters expressed interest in 

adding Pre-K and early childhood to the 

definition of TEA. Although we are not 

expanding the definition of TEA, the 

activities in ESEA section 6121(c) do 

include early childhood education, and 

accordingly we are including language 

in the absolute priority to provide 

applicants an opportunity to select 

project activities that would address any 

grade level from Pre-K through grade 12. 

3. We asked how long the grant period 

should be for the ARP–AIRE program 

and provided examples of 3-year, 4- 

year, and 5-year grant periods. A 

majority of Tribal leaders and other 

commenters suggested that the program 

performance period be a 5-year period. 

We considered this input, but weighed 

it against the fact that, given the onetime nature of these ARP funds, we 

could award more 3-year awards than 5- 

year awards, and the fact that the ARP 

funding is emergency funding from 

Congress to address immediate needs 

caused by the pandemic. We also 

believe that a grant period shorter than 

three years would not give grantees 

adequate time to successfully 

implement projects. We have decided to 

use a 3-year grant period in order to 

maximize the number of awards 

available and reach the maximum 

number of Tribal communities 

throughout the country to support 

effective responses to the pandemic. 

4. We explained that we were 

considering prioritizing certain project 

activities from the full list of allowable 

activities in ESEA section 6121(c). All of 

the allowable activities are for direct 

services to Indian children and youth in 

Pre-K through twelfth grade, and/or 

their teachers and parents. We asked 

Tribal representatives to select two of 

the listed activities that most interest 

their Tribal Nation. The most popular 

activities selected by participants were 

Native language programs; services to 

assist and encourage students to enter, 

remain in, or reenter school; and 

incorporation of culturally relevant 

pedagogy into local school curricula. 

However, the majority of comments 

from Tribal leaders and others strongly 

recommended that TEAs be able to 

choose their grant focus from among the 

activities listed in section 6121(c) of the 

ESEA. We agree with Tribal leaders and 

other commenters that allowing 

applicants to choose their activities 

better supports Tribal sovereignty. 

The Department has designed one 

absolute priority that we believe meets 

these various goals; the absolute priority 

requires culturally relevant projects 

designed to assist and encourage Indian 

children and youth to enter, remain in, 

or reenter school at any grade level from 

Pre-K through grade 12, that include at 

least one of the activities from section 

6121(c) of the ESEA. We omitted section 

6121(c)(5) because it is incorporated 

into the introductory language of the 

absolute priority, and section 

6121(c)(14) because it is only relevant to 

the Demonstration Grants program. 

Under this absolute priority, applicants 

can choose one or more of the activities, 

such as native language instruction, 

remedial instruction, or Pre-K 

education, and must show how it is 

culturally relevant and how it is 

designed to help students enter, remain 

in, or reenter school. 

We included in the introductory 

language of the absolute priority the 

focus on activities that assist and 

encourage Indian children and youth to 

enter, remain in, or reenter school, 

because two decades of research 

literature shows that there is a clear 

need to identify strategies to help keep 

Indian children and youth in school 

(Withington A., & Shtivelband, A., 

2014).1 We included the requirement 

that all projects use culturally related 

activities because research has shown 

that such activities improve the 

academic achievement of American 

Indian/Alaska Native students 

(McCarty, 2011; 2 Faircloth & 

Tippeconic, 2000; 3 Kim & 

Helphenstine, 2017; Thomas & Collier, 

1997 4). 

5. We asked whether we should 

prioritize novice applicants by 

including a competitive preference 

priority that awards additional points to 

applicants that have not received a grant 

from the Department within a certain 

time period. The majority of comments 

were in favor of the Department 

including a competitive preference 

priority to encourage novice applicants 

to give an advantage to TEAs that have 

not previously been awarded grants 

from the Department. We agree and 

have included a competitive preference 

priority for novice applicants in the 

competition. For this competition, a 

‘‘novice’’ applicant is one that has not 

had an active discretionary grant from 

the Department in the past five years. If 

an applicant received a grant during that 

period only as a member of a 

consortium in which it was not the lead 

applicant, the applicant will still receive 

the novice priority points. For an 

applicant that is a consortium of TEAs, 

if the lead applicant has not had an 

active discretionary grant from the 

Department in the past five years, it will 

receive the novice points even if not all 

consortium members meet the novice 

requirement. 

6. We asked how we should measure 

the success of these projects and 

included the following measures as 

examples: The number and percentage 

of participating students who 

demonstrate an increase in attendance 

rate; increase in graduation rate; 

improved academic performance; and 

improved social, emotional and mental 

health. As a related matter, we asked 

whether we should require grantees to 

track student-level data and, 

specifically, graduation rates. The 

majority of comments suggested the 

Department measure the success of 

project performance using attendance, 

academic performance, and other means 

as defined by the TEA. While we 

generally agree that each of these are 

important, because we anticipate that 

projects will focus on many types of 

activities, the Department will measure 

success by determining the number of 

grantees that attain or exceed the targets 

for the outcome indicators that have 

been approved by the Secretary for their 

projects. 

As part of these questions, we also 

asked whether we should require 

grantees to track these measures during 

a data collection period after the 

substantive project activities have 

ended. A majority of the comments from 

Tribal leaders and others suggested that 

grantees should track measures beyond 

the performance period. While we 

generally agree, we also had many 

requests during consultation to keep the 

program design simple and minimize 

program requirements. Therefore, we 

will not incorporate a program 

requirement relating to long-term data 

collection; however, we may consider 

grant extensions for data collection in 

the future. 

7. We asked whether we should 

require grantees to enter into written 

data-sharing agreements with the school 

districts attended by students 


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participating in their projects. The 

purpose of such agreements would be to 

ensure that grantees have the data 

needed to report on measures we might 

require of all grantees, as well as their 

own project-specific objectives. Results 

were mixed from Tribal leaders as to 

whether the Department should impose 

an application requirement for a datasharing agreement with partner schools. 

Most other commenters suggested that 

TEAs should be required to enter a datasharing agreement with partner schools 

prior to applying. One commenter 

suggested that data-sharing agreements 

could be entered into at any appropriate 

point in the grant process and do not 

necessarily need to be entered into prior 

to submitting a grant application. While 

we generally agree that data-sharing 

agreements are conducive to effective 

project performance, we do not want to 

impose an application requirement that 

we understand can be very timeconsuming and that might lead to TEAs 

being unable to meet the application 

deadline. Instead, we have created a 

program requirement for a data-sharing 

agreement to allow grantees the 

flexibility to obtain those agreements 

during the first six months of their 

performance period. 

8. We asked Tribal leaders and other 

participants to comment on any other 

application or program requirements 

that we should consider. Commenters 

suggested that we require family 

engagement and minimize reporting 

burden on grantees as much as possible. 

We recognize the importance of 

promoting family engagement and 

reducing reporting burden and have 

taken those into consideration. While 

we agree that family engagement is 

important, we also want to simplify the 

application and be respectful of Tribal 

sovereignty, so we are not adding an 

additional program requirement around 

family engagement. With regard to 

reporting burdens, there are 

Department-wide requirements around 

annual reporting in the Annual 

Performance Report (APR), and we 

believe that APR reporting serves a 

valuable function in ensuring ongoing 

progress and enabling us to provide 

assistance to grantees who may be 

struggling to achieve adequate progress. 

Priorities: This notice contains one 

absolute priority and one competitive 

preference priority. We are establishing 

these priorities for the FY 2021 grant 

competition and any subsequent year in 

which we make awards from the list of 

unfunded applications from this 

competition, in accordance with section 

437(d)(1) of the General Education 

Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 

1232(d)(1). 

Absolute Priority: This priority is an 

absolute priority. Under 34 CFR 

75.105(c)(3), we consider only 

applications that meet this priority. 

This priority is: 

American Indian Resilience in 

Education. 

To meet this priority, applicants must 

propose a culturally relevant project 

designed to assist and encourage Indian 

children and youth to enter, remain in, 

or reenter school at any grade level from 

Pre-K through grade 12, that includes at 

least one of the following activities from 

section 6121(c) of the ESEA: 

(1) Innovative programs related to the 

educational needs of educationally 

disadvantaged Indian children and 

youth. 

(2) Educational services that are not 

available to such children and youth in 

sufficient quantity or quality, including 

remedial instruction, to raise the 

achievement of Indian children in one 

or more of the subjects of English, 

mathematics, science, foreign languages, 

art, history, and geography. 

(3) Bilingual and bicultural programs 

and projects. 

(4) Special health and nutrition 

services, and other related activities, 

that address the special health, social, 

and psychological problems of Indian 

children and youth. 

(5) Comprehensive guidance, 

counseling, and testing services. 

(6) Early childhood education 

programs that are effective in preparing 

young children to make sufficient 

academic growth by the end of grade 3, 

including kindergarten and Pre-K 

programs, family-based preschool 

programs that emphasize school 

readiness, screening and referral, and 

the provision of services to Indian 

children and youth with disabilities. 

(7) Partnership projects between local 

educational agencies and institutions of 

higher education that allow secondary 

school students to enroll in courses at 

the postsecondary level to aid such 

students in the transition from 

secondary to postsecondary education. 

(8) Partnership projects between 

schools and local businesses for career 

preparation programs designed to 

provide Indian youth with the 

knowledge and skills such youth need 

to make an effective transition from 

school to a high-skill career. 

(9) Programs designed to encourage 

and assist Indian students to work 

toward, and gain entrance into, 

institutions of higher education. 

(10) Family literacy services. 

(11) Activities that recognize and 

support the unique cultural and 

educational needs of Indian children 

and youth, and incorporate traditional 

leaders. 

(12) High-quality professional 

development of teaching professionals 

and paraprofessionals. 

Competitive Preference Priority: This 

priority is a competitive preference 

priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) 

we award an additional five points to an 

application that meets this priority. 

This priority is: 

Applicants that are New Potential 

Grantees. (0 or 5 points) 

To meet this priority, the applicant 

has not had an active discretionary grant 

from the Department in the past five 

years. For an applicant that is a 

consortium of TEAs, if the lead 

applicant meets this requirement, it will 

receive the novice points even if not all 

consortium members meet this 

requirement. 

Requirement: We are establishing this 

program requirement for the FY 2021 

grant competition and any subsequent 

year in which we make awards from the 

list of unfunded applications from this 

competition, in accordance with section 

437(d)(1) of GEPA. 

Program Requirement: Within six 

months after the date of the award, the 

grantee must submit to the Department 

a signed, written agreement with each 

LEA where participating students are 

enrolled. The agreement must include 

provisions that allow the grantee to 

access data necessary for the success of 

the project and for reporting on project 

objectives. Agreements between 

Tribally-controlled schools and grantees 

are not required if the school and 

grantee are controlled by the same 

Tribe. 

Statutory Hiring Preference: 

(a) Awards that are primarily for the 

benefit of Indians are subject to the 

provisions of section 7(b) of the Indian 

Self-Determination and Education 

Assistance Act (Pub. L. 93–638). That 

section requires that, to the greatest 

extent feasible, a grantee— 

(1) Give to Indians preferences and 

opportunities for training and 

employment in connection with the 

administration of the grant; and 

(2) Give to Indian organizations and to 

Indian-owned economic enterprises, as 

defined in section 3 of the Indian 

Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 

1452(e)), preference in the award of 

contracts in connection with the 

administration of the grant. 

(b) For purposes of this preference, an 

Indian is a member of any federally 

recognized Indian Tribe. 

Definitions: The following definitions 

apply to this competition. We are 

establishing the definitions of ‘‘Indian’’ 

and ‘‘Tribal Educational Agency’’ in this 


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notice for the FY 2021 grant competition 

and any subsequent year in which we 

make awards from the list of unfunded 

applications from this competition, in 

accordance with section 437(d)(1) of 

GEPA. The definitions of ‘‘demonstrates 

a rationale’’ and ‘‘logic model’’ are from 

34 CFR 77.1. 

Demonstrates a Rationale means a key 

project component included in the 

project’s logic model is informed by 

research or evaluation findings that 

suggest the project component is likely 

to improve relevant outcomes. 

Indian means an individual who is— 

(1) A member of an Indian Tribe or 

band, as membership is defined by the 

Indian Tribe or band, including any 

Tribe or band terminated since 1940, 

and any Tribe or band recognized by the 

State in which the Tribe or band resides; 

(2) A descendant of a parent or 

grandparent who meets the 

requirements described in paragraph (1) 

of this definition; 

(3) Considered by the Secretary of the 

Interior to be an Indian for any purpose; 

(4) An Eskimo, Aleut, or other Alaska 

Native; or 

(5) A member of an organized Indian 

group that received a grant under the 

Indian Education Act of 1988 as it was 

in effect on October 19, 1994. 

Logic Model (also referred to as a 

theory of action) means a framework 

that identifies key project components 

of the proposed project (i.e., the active 

‘‘ingredients’’ that are hypothesized to 

be critical to achieving the relevant 

outcomes) and describes the theoretical 

and operational relationships among the 

key project components and relevant 

outcomes. 

Tribal Educational Agency (TEA) 

means the agency, department, or 

instrumentality of one or more 

federally- recognized or Staterecognized Indian Tribes, that is 

primarily responsible for supporting 

Tribal students’ elementary and 

secondary education. 

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: 

Under the Administrative Procedure Act 

(5 U.S.C. 553) the Department generally 

offers interested parties the opportunity 

to comment on proposed priorities, 

requirements, and definitions. Section 

437(d)(1) of GEPA, however, allows the 

Secretary to exempt from rulemaking 

requirements regulations governing the 

first grant competition under a new or 

substantially revised program authority. 

This is the first grant competition for 

this program under section 11006(1) of 

the ARP (Pub. L. 117–2), and, therefore, 

qualifies for this exemption. In order to 

ensure timely grant awards, the 

Secretary has decided to forgo public 

comment on the priorities, 

requirements, and definitions under 

section 437(d)(1) of GEPA. These 

priorities, requirements, and definitions 

will apply to the FY 2021 competition, 

and any subsequent year in which we 

make awards from the list of unfunded 

applications from this competition. 

Program Authority: Section 11006 of 

the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 

(ARP), Public Law 117–2. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR 

parts 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, 

and 99. (b) The Office of Management 

and Budget Guidelines to Agencies on 

Governmentwide Debarment and 

Suspension (Non-procurement) in 2 

CFR part 180, as adopted and amended 

as regulations of the Department in 2 

CFR part 3485. (c) The Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles, and Audit Requirements for 

Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as 

adopted and amended as regulations of 

the Department in 2 CFR part 3474. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 

79 apply to all applicants except 

federally recognized Indian Tribes. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$19,800,000 for three years. 

Estimated Range of Awards: $300,000 

to $500,000 for each 12-month budget 

period. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$400,000 for each 12-month budget 

period. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 16 for 

each 12-month budget period. 

Note: The Department is not bound by 

any estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: 36 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: TEAs, 

including a consortium of TEAs. 

Note: If applying as a consortium, 

applicants should refer to 34 CFR 

75.127–75.129 for information about 

group applications. 

2. a. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

program does not require cost sharing or 

matching. 

b. Indirect Cost Rate Information: This 

program uses an unrestricted indirect 

cost rate. For more information 

regarding indirect costs, or to obtain a 

negotiated indirect cost rate, please see 

www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/ 

intro.html. 

c. Administrative Cost Limitation: 

This program does not include any 

program-specific limitation on 

administrative expenses. All 

administrative expenses must be 

reasonable and necessary and conform 

to the Cost Principles in 2 CFR part 200 

subpart E of the Uniform Guidance. 

3. Subgrantees: A grantee under this 

competition may not award subgrants to 

entities to directly carry out project 

activities described in its application. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Application Submission 

Instructions: Applicants are required to 

follow the Common Instructions for 

Applicants to Department of Education 

Discretionary Grant Programs, 

published in the Federal Register on 

February 13, 2019 (84 FR 3768) and 

available at www.govinfo.gov/content/ 

pkg/FR-2019-02-13/pdf/2019-02206.pdf, 

which contain requirements and 

information on how to submit an 

application. 

2. Submission of Proprietary 

Information: Given the types of projects 

that may be proposed in applications for 

the ARP–AIRE program, your 

application may include business 

information that you consider 

proprietary. In 34 CFR 5.11 we define 

‘‘business information’’ and describe the 

process we use in determining whether 

any of that information is proprietary 

and, thus, protected from disclosure 

under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as 

amended). Because we plan to make 

successful applications available to the 

public, you may wish to request 

confidentiality of business information. 

Consistent with Executive Order 

12600, please designate in your 

application any information that you 

believe is exempt from disclosure under 

Exemption 4. In the appropriate 

Appendix section of your application, 

under ‘‘Other Attachments Form,’’ 

please list the page number or numbers 

on which we can find this information. 

For additional information please see 34 

CFR 5.11(c). 

3. Intergovernmental Review: This 

program is subject to Executive Order 

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 79. Information about 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs under Executive Order 12372 

is in the application package for this 

program. Please note that, under 34 CFR 

79.8(a), we have shortened the standard 

60-day intergovernmental review period 

in order to make awards by the end of 

FY 2021. 

4. Funding Restrictions: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

5. Recommended Page Limit: The 

application narrative is where you, the 

applicant, address the selection criteria 

that reviewers use to evaluate your 


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application. We recommend that you (1) 

limit the application narrative to no 

more than 50 pages and (2) use the 

following standards: 

• A ‘‘page’’ is 8.5′′ x 11′′, on one side 

only, with 1′′ margins at the top, bottom, 

and both sides. 

• Double-space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

application narrative, including titles, 

headings, footnotes, quotations, 

references, and captions, as well as all 

text in charts, tables, figures, and 

graphs. 

• Use a font that is either 12 point or 

larger or no smaller than 10 pitch 

(characters per inch). 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New, or Arial. 

The recommended page limit does not 

apply to the cover sheet; the budget 

section, including the narrative budget 

justification; the assurances and 

certifications; or the one-page abstract, 

the resumes, the bibliography, or the 

letters of support. However, the 

recommended page limit does apply to 

all of the application narrative. 

The recommended page limit does not 

apply to the cover sheet; the budget 

section, including the narrative budget 

justification; the assurances and 

certifications; or the one-page abstract, 

the resumes, the bibliography, or the 

letters of support. However, the 

recommended page limit does apply to 

all of the application narrative. 

6. Notice of Intent to Apply: The 

Department will be able to review grant 

applications more efficiently if we know 

the approximate number of applicants 

that intend to apply. Therefore, we 

strongly encourage each potential 

applicant to notify us of their intent to 

submit an application. To do so, please 

email the program contact person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT with the subject line ‘‘Intent to 

Apply,’’ and include the applicant’s 

name and a contact person’s name and 

email address. Applicants that do not 

submit a notice of intent to apply may 

still apply for funding; applicants that 

do submit a notice of intent to apply are 

not bound to apply or bound by the 

information provided. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this program are from 34 CFR 

75.210. We will award up to 100 points 

to an application under the selection 

criteria; the total possible points for 

each selection criterion are noted in 

parentheses. 

(a) Quality of the project design (up to 

50 points). 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the design of the proposed 

project. 

(2) In determining the quality of the 

design of the proposed project, the 

Secretary considers the following 

factors: 

(i) The extent to which the design of 

the proposed project includes a 

thorough, high-quality review of the 

relevant literature, a high-quality plan 

for project implementation, and the use 

of appropriate methodological tools to 

ensure successful achievement of 

project objectives. (20 points) 

(ii) The extent to which the proposed 

project encourages parental 

involvement. (10 points) 

(iii) The extent to which the proposed 

project demonstrates a rationale (as 

defined in this notice). (10 points) 

(iv) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation include the use of 

objective performance measures that are 

clearly related to the intended outcomes 

of the project and will produce 

quantitative and qualitative data to the 

extent possible. (10 points) 

(b) Quality of project services (up to 

20 points). 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the services to be provided by 

the proposed project. 

(2) In determining the quality of the 

services to be provided by the proposed 

project, the Secretary considers the 

quality and sufficiency of strategies for 

ensuring equal access and treatment for 

eligible project participants who are 

members of groups that have 

traditionally been underrepresented 

based on race, color, national origin, 

gender, age, or disability. (1 point) 

(3) In addition, the Secretary 

considers the following factors: 

(i) The extent to which the services to 

be provided by the proposed project are 

appropriate to the needs of the intended 

recipients or beneficiaries of those 

services. (4 points) 

(ii) The extent to which the services 

to be provided by the proposed project 

reflect up-to-date knowledge from 

research and effective practice. (10 

points) 

(iii) The likely impact of the services 

to be provided by the proposed project 

on the intended recipients of those 

services. (5 points) 

(c) Quality of project personnel (up to 

15 points). 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the personnel who will carry 

out the proposed project. 

(2) In determining the quality of 

project personnel, the Secretary 

considers the extent to which the 

applicant encourages applications for 

employment from persons who are 

members of groups that have 

traditionally been underrepresented 

based on race, color, national origin, 

gender, age, or disability. (3 points) 

(3) In addition, the Secretary 

considers the following factors: 

(i) The qualifications, including 

relevant training and experience, of the 

project director or principal 

investigator. (7 points) 

(ii) The qualifications, including 

relevant training and experience, of key 

project personnel. (5 points) 

(d) Quality of the management plan 

(up to 15 points). 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the management plan for the 

proposed project. 

(2) In determining the quality of the 

management plan for the proposed 

project, the Secretary considers the 

following factors: 

(i) The adequacy of the management 

plan to achieve the objectives of the 

proposed project on time and within 

budget, including clearly defined 

responsibilities, timelines, and 

milestones for accomplishing project 

tasks. (10 points) 

(ii) The extent to which the time 

commitments of the project director and 

principal investigator and other key 

project personnel are appropriate and 

adequate to meet the objectives of the 

proposed project. (5 points) 

2. Review and Selection Process: We 

remind potential applicants that in 

reviewing applications in any 

discretionary grant competition, the 

Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 

75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the 

applicant in carrying out a previous 

award, such as the applicant’s use of 

funds, achievement of project 

objectives, and compliance with grant 

conditions. The Secretary may also 

consider whether the applicant failed to 

submit a timely performance report or 

submitted a report of unacceptable 

quality. 

In addition, in making a competitive 

grant award, the Secretary requires 

various assurances, including those 

applicable to Federal civil rights laws 

that prohibit discrimination in programs 

or activities receiving Federal financial 

assistance from the Department (34 CFR 

100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 

3. Risk Assessment and Specific 

Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR 

200.206, before awarding grants under 

this program the Department conducts a 

review of the risks posed by applicants. 

Under 2 CFR 200.208, the Secretary may 

impose specific conditions and, under 2 

CFR 3474.10, in appropriate 

circumstances, high-risk conditions on a 

grant if the applicant or grantee is not 

financially stable; has a history of 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 13, 2021 / Notices 36721 

unsatisfactory performance; has a 

financial or other management system 

that does not meet the standards in 2 

CFR part 200, subpart D; has not 

fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; 

or is otherwise not responsible. 

4. Integrity and Performance System: 

If you are selected under this 

competition to receive an award that 

over the course of the project period 

may exceed the simplified acquisition 

threshold (currently $250,000), under 2 

CFR 200.206(a)(2) we must make a 

judgment about your integrity, business 

ethics, and record of performance under 

Federal awards—that is, the risk posed 

by you as an applicant—before we make 

an award. In doing so, we must consider 

any information about you that is in the 

integrity and performance system 

(currently referred to as the Federal 

Awardee Performance and Integrity 

Information System (FAPIIS)), 

accessible through the System for 

Award Management. You may review 

and comment on any information about 

yourself that a Federal agency 

previously entered and that is currently 

in FAPIIS. 

Please note that, if the total value of 

your currently active grants, cooperative 

agreements, and procurement contracts 

from the Federal Government exceeds 

$10,000,000, the reporting requirements 

in 2 CFR part 200, Appendix XII, 

require you to report certain integrity 

information to FAPIIS semiannually. 

Please review the requirements in 2 CFR 

part 200, Appendix XII, if this grant 

plus all the other Federal funds you 

receive exceed $10,000,000. 

5. In General: In accordance with the 

Office of Management and Budget’s 

guidance located at 2 CFR part 200, all 

applicable Federal laws, and relevant 

Executive guidance, the Department 

will review and consider applications 

for funding pursuant to this notice 

inviting applications in accordance 

with— 

(a) Selecting recipients most likely to 

be successful in delivering results based 

on the program objectives through an 

objective process of evaluating Federal 

award applications (2 CFR 200.205); 

(b) Prohibiting the purchase of certain 

telecommunication and video 

surveillance services or equipment in 

alignment with section 889 of the 

National Defense Authorization Act of 

2019 (Pub. L. 115–232) (2 CFR 200.216); 

(c) Providing a preference, to the 

extent permitted by law, to maximize 

use of goods, products, and materials 

produced in the United States (2 CFR 

200.322); and 

(d) Terminating agreements in whole 

or in part to the greatest extent 

authorized by law if an award no longer 

effectuates the program goals or agency 

priorities (2 CFR 200.340). 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If your application 

is successful, we notify your U.S. 

Representative and U.S. Senators and 

send you a Grant Award Notification 

(GAN); or we may send you an email 

containing a link to access an electronic 

version of your GAN. We may notify 

you informally, also. 

If your application is not evaluated or 

not selected for funding, we notify you. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: We identify 

administrative and national policy 

requirements in the application package 

and reference these and other 

requirements in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

We reference the regulations outlining 

the terms and conditions of an award in 

the Applicable Regulations section of 

this notice and include these and other 

specific conditions in the GAN. The 

GAN also incorporates your approved 

application as part of your binding 

commitments under the grant. 

3. Open Licensing Requirements: 

Unless an exception applies, if you are 

awarded a grant under this competition, 

you will be required to openly license 

to the public grant deliverables created 

in whole, or in part, with Department 

grant funds. When the deliverable 

consists of modifications to pre-existing 

works, the license extends only to those 

modifications that can be separately 

identified and only to the extent that 

open licensing is permitted under the 

terms of any licenses or other legal 

restrictions on the use of pre-existing 

works. Additionally, a grantee or 

subgrantee that is awarded competitive 

grant funds must have a plan to 

disseminate these public grant 

deliverables. This dissemination plan 

can be developed and submitted after 

your application has been reviewed and 

selected for funding. For additional 

information on the open licensing 

requirements please refer to 2 CFR 

3474.20. 

4. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a 

grant under this competition, you must 

ensure that you have in place the 

necessary processes and systems to 

comply with the reporting requirements 

in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive 

funding under the competition. This 

does not apply if you have an exception 

under 2 CFR 170.110(b). 

(b) At the end of your project period, 

you must submit a final performance 

report, including financial information, 

as directed by the Secretary. If you 

receive a multiyear award, you must 

submit an annual performance report 

that provides the most current 

performance and financial expenditure 

information as directed by the Secretary 

under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary 

may also require more frequent 

performance reports under 34 CFR 

75.720(c). For specific requirements on 

reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/ 

fund/grant/apply/appforms/ 

appforms.html. 

(c) Under 34 CFR 75.250(b), the 

Secretary may provide a grantee with 

additional funding for data collection 

analysis and reporting. In this case the 

Secretary establishes a data collection 

period. 

5. Performance Measures: For the 

purposes of the Government 

Performance and Results Act of 1993 

and for Department reporting under 34 

CFR 75.110, we have established the 

following performance measure for the 

ARP–AIRE program: 

The number of grantees that attain or 

exceed the targets for the outcome 

indicators that have been approved by 

the Secretary for their projects. 

6. Continuation Awards: In making a 

continuation award under 34 CFR 

75.253, the Secretary considers, among 

other things: Whether a grantee has 

made substantial progress in achieving 

the goals and objectives of the project; 

whether the grantee has expended funds 

in a manner that is consistent with its 

approved application and budget; and, 

if the Secretary has established 

performance measurement 

requirements, the performance targets in 

the grantee’s approved application. 

In making a continuation award, the 

Secretary also considers whether the 

grantee is operating in compliance with 

the assurances in its approved 

application, including those applicable 

to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit 

discrimination in programs or activities 

receiving Federal financial assistance 

from the Department (34 CFR 100.4, 

104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 

VII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document and a copy of the 

application package in an accessible 

format. The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
36722 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 13, 2021 / Notices 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Portable Document Format 

(PDF). To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Ian Rosenblum, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and 

Programs Delegated the Authority to Perform 

the Functions and Duties of the Assistant 

Secretary, Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14858 Filed 7–12–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards; National 

Comprehensive Center on Improving 

Literacy for Students With Disabilities 

AGENCY: Offices of Elementary and 

Secondary Education and Special 

Education and Rehabilitative Services, 

Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Education 

(Department) is issuing a notice inviting 

applications for a new award for fiscal 

year (FY) 2021 for a National 

Comprehensive Center on Improving 

Literacy for Students with Disabilities 

(Comprehensive Centers program), 

Assistance Listing Number 84.283D. 

This notice relates to the approved 

information collection under OMB 

control number 1894–0006. 

DATES: 

Applications available: July 13, 2021. 

Deadline for transmittal of 

applications: September 1, 2021. 

Pre-Application Webinar Information: 

No later than July 19, 2021, the Office 

of Special Education Programs (OSEP) 

will post a pre-recorded informational 

webinar designed to provide technical 

assistance (TA) to interested applicants. 

ADDRESSES: For the addresses for 

obtaining and submitting an 

application, please refer to our Common 

Instructions for Applicants to 

Department of Education Discretionary 

Grant Programs, published in the 

Federal Register on February 13, 2019 

(84 FR 3768), and available at 

www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR–2019– 

02–13/pdf/2019–02206.pdf. 

The webinar may be found at 

www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/osep/ 

new-osep-grants.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina 

Diamond, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 

Room 5142, Potomac Center Plaza, 

Washington, DC 20202–5076. 

Telephone: (202) 245–6723. Email: 

Christina.Diamond@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the National Comprehensive Center on 

Improving Literacy for Students with 

Disabilities (Center) is to identify or 

develop evidence-based literacy 

assessment tools and professional 

development activities and identify 

evidence-based instruction, strategies, 

and accommodations for students at risk 

of not attaining full literacy skills due to 

a disability, including dyslexia 

impacting reading or writing, or 

developmental delay impacting reading, 

writing, language processing, 

comprehension, or executive 

functioning. The Center will also 

disseminate its products and 

information on evidence-based literacy 

to families, SEAs, LEAs, REAs, and 

schools. 

Priority: This priority is from the 

notice of final priority, requirement, and 

definitions (NFP) for this program 

published elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register. 

Absolute Priority: For FY 2021 and 

any subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applications from this competition, this 

priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 

CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only 

applications that meet this priority. 

This priority is: 

National Comprehensive Center on 

Improving Literacy for Students with 

Disabilities. 

Background: 

Section 2244 of the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act, as amended 

(ESEA) requires the Secretary to 

establish a comprehensive center on 

students at risk of not attaining full 

literacy skills due to a disability. 

Comprehensive centers are typically 

administered by the Office of 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

(OESE). OESE is funding this Center; 

however, because of the Center’s subject 

matter, it will be administered jointly by 

OESE and OSEP in the Office of Special 

Education and Rehabilitative Services 

(OSERS). 

The project is designed to improve 

implementation of evidence-based 

literacy practices in both teacher 

classroom and remote learning 

environments. With respect to remote 

learning, the priority is intended to 

ensure that teachers have the training 

and support they need to implement 

evidence-based literacy practices during 

remote instruction for students with 

disabilities, including students with 

dyslexia impacting reading or writing, 

or developmental delay impacting 

reading, writing, language processing, 

comprehension, or executive 

functioning. Remote learning plays a 

critical role in regular instruction and 

can serve as a crucial link allowing 

high-quality teaching and learning to 

continue when regular instruction is 

disrupted. 

Priority: 

The purpose of this priority is to fund 

a cooperative agreement to establish and 

operate a National Comprehensive 

Center on Improving Literacy for 

Students with Disabilities (Center) for 

children in early childhood education 

programs through high school. The 

Center must— 

(a) Identify or develop free or low-cost 

evidence-based assessment tools for 

identifying students at risk of not 

attaining full literacy skills due to a 

disability, including dyslexia impacting 

reading or writing, or developmental 

delay impacting reading, writing, 

language processing, comprehension, or 

executive functioning; 

(b) Identify evidence-based literacy 

instruction, strategies, and 

accommodations, including assistive 

technology, designed to meet the 

specific needs of such students; 

(c) Provide families of such students 

with information to assist such students; 

(d) Identify or develop evidence-based 

professional development for teachers, 

paraprofessionals, principals, other 

school leaders, and specialized 

instructional support personnel to— 

(1) Understand early indicators of 

students at risk of not attaining full 

literacy skills due to a disability, 

including dyslexia impacting reading or 

writing, or developmental delay 

impacting reading, writing, language 

processing, comprehension, or 

executive functioning; 

(2) Use evidence-based screening 

assessments for early identification of 


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